ESMLT 38

Chapter 38

‘Aura.’

Sien had said it.

That he had manifested mana bullets using a preservation technique.

If that was the case, then couldn’t the Crown Prince also manifest a spear using aura?

Of course, it wasn’t something that could be done as easily as it sounded.

But still—

If it were this man.

If it were the Crown Prince, then maybe it was possible.

Unable to hide my excitement at having come up with a plan, I grabbed him by the collar as if seizing his throat.

“Your Highness, manifest a spear with aura.”

“What?”

As he stared down at me with a dumbfounded expression, I shouted in frustration.

“Aura! Let’s create a weapon that will never break using aura!”

While dodging another attack from the monster, the Crown Prince leapt aside and spoke.

“Lady, we don’t know what kind of backlash might occur if I use aura in a place like this.”

“Then use the preservation method.”

Ah—right. Just like how Sien needed a revolver, this man would also need a physical frame to coat with aura.

I hurriedly searched my pouch for a compact metal spear. After dodging a few more attacks from the monster, my hand finally closed around it.

“Here.”

“Hah.”

The Crown Prince alternated his gaze between the miniature spear in my palm and my face, looking utterly incredulous.

“You’re seriously telling me to try this?”

“We can’t just keep dodging forever. The Tower Master could do it—are you saying you can’t?”

His brow twitched as he frowned.

“Are you provoking me?”

“Yes. I am.”

Rrrrr—!

Whoosh—!

Even while caught off guard, the Crown Prince dodged the monster’s attack and set me down.

He took the spear from me, expanded its size, and swung the now-enlarged weapon through the air a few times.

Rrrrr—.

At that moment, the monster twisted its body toward me, as if preparing to attack.

I hadn’t realized it since I’d been held in the Crown Prince’s arms the whole time, but—

‘Why is it only targeting me?!’

I quickly threw myself into an open space, narrowly avoiding the rolling monster.

Rrrrr— bang!

Rrrrr— bang!

Rolling repeatedly to evade its attacks, I looked toward the Crown Prince on the opposite side.

“Is the aura ready?”

He glanced uneasily at the expanded spear, then reluctantly nodded.

“I’ll try.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them again with determination.

Wiiiing—.

A mechanical sound rang out, and the spear began to emit a pale crimson glow.

Sharp, drill-like spikes jutted out along the long shaft, as jagged as saw teeth.

‘Wow.’

Rrrrk, rrrrk.

Meanwhile, the monster braced itself against the wall and twisted its body toward me.

Rrrrr—!

The instant it rolled toward me—

Slash—!

The Crown Prince swept his weapon sideways at a speed invisible to the eye, and a red beam shot forth, striking the monster and vanishing.

A beat later, a gust of wind rushed through the stone chamber, lifting my bangs.

Crack— bang!

The monster’s rounded stone body split cleanly in two and slid apart.

One half rolled away, spinning across the stone floor, its cut surface so smooth it was clearly visible.

‘Wow… it actually worked.’

After a brief moment of awe, a confident smile spread across my face.

If this principle worked, then Jaeger and Danha could also wield far stronger weapons.

I let out a small laugh and turned to the Crown Prince.

“If you could do this, why were you pretending to be so modest?”

“Impressive.”

The Crown Prince chuckled hollowly while looking at the spear still infused with aura.

That was when a sound came from the split half of the monster’s body.

The jagged lips of a human mouth twitched repeatedly.

“Uh… uh… ah….”

When I stepped closer to listen, the voice was exactly the same as the child who had asked me to sing a lullaby.

A chill crept over me. I straightened up and looked at the monster.

The eyes that had been rolling endlessly before were now all staring straight at me.

Goosebumps rose over my skin, and I staggered back.

“Ah… ah….”

The monster stretched out a severed arm, dripping with blood, as if trying to grab me—then it dropped limply to the floor.

Its lips, which had been moving all along, murmured something one last time.

After hearing that final word, I stood there, breath caught, staring blankly at the corpse.

The Crown Prince had approached from behind me at some point; judging by his silence, he had heard it too.

“……”

“……”

The stone chamber fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

‘It would’ve been better if I hadn’t heard its final call…’

Letting out a dry sigh, I slowly ran a hand down my face.

…The monster had called me “Mom.”

Crackle—.

I tapped the brooch that still hadn’t connected.

Since there had been no response from Jaeger’s group yet, it was likely they hadn’t realized we’d disappeared.

I considered blowing up the stone door, but decided to hold off until we made contact—there was the risk of a cave-in, and the location signal was faint.

The cave entrance was blocked by the stone door, but since I’d been smelling seawater from the top of the stairs for a while now, it seemed air was still flowing through the cracks.

I looked over the stairs and the landing.

Bones were scattered everywhere.

“Grrk—.”

The rabbit had sprawled out on its back at some point, its belly swollen like a basketball after gorging itself, letting out a burp.

Despite my protests, the Crown Prince had gone down the stairs to investigate anyway.

‘Let’s rest for now.’

After assessing the situation, all my strength drained away. I slid down and leaned against the wall at the landing.

‘Haah… I’m exhausted.’

Hugging my knees, I bowed my head between my legs.

Just as I was starting to calm down—

Slap.

At the sudden sound, I turned my tired eyes toward it.

“XX!”

What I saw made my face drain of color as I sprang up in a panic.

A monster’s tail was flopping beside me like a live fish.

“What is it, Lady?!”

The Crown Prince rushed up the stairs in alarm. Seeing the flailing tail, he casually kicked it away with an indifferent expression.

Apparently it had flown off when the monster’s body was split.

“You really are jumpy.”

Though his voice lacked energy, it wasn’t an annoyed tone.

When he sat down beside me, I shot him a glare and sat as well.

“And whose fault do you think this is?”

He gave a weak laugh and closed his eyes.

“I didn’t intend it, but… I’m sorry.”

“…How was it down the stairs?”

“…Blocked by a stone wall as well.”

“Is that so? Then depending on the situation, we’ll have to bring down the stone door.”

“Agreed. We should wait until we hear from the others.”

I nodded, though my heart felt heavy. The monster’s corpse sprawled before us, along with the traces of battle.

Thinking back to what had just happened, my heart still pounded wildly, my insides chilled.

After hesitating for a long time, unsure how to begin, I finally voiced my question.

“That monster… it was human, right?”

“I think the core was human. It looks like they were subjected to human experimentation involving monsters and various other creatures.”

‘Insane.’

Hearing it confirmed made it all the more horrifying.

The Crown Prince rubbed his face with a sigh, clearly troubled. Though he tried to remain composed, the weight of it couldn’t be hidden.

That child’s voice calling out “Mom” wasn’t something anyone could forget easily.

‘Could it be that it attacked me because it recognized me as its mother… and was trying to cling to me?’

The thought made my chest feel heavy.

Fidgeting with my sleeve, I spoke.

“When we get out of here… should we bury it, so it can rest in peace?”

The words slipped out as if to ease my guilt.

The Crown Prince stared at me, eyes wide.

Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek.

‘Would it seem strange, suggesting we bury a monster?’

After a long pause, he looked at me with an unreadable expression and replied.

“Yes.”

Only after receiving his agreement did I feel slightly freed from the unpleasant emotions weighing on me.

Soon after, as relief and composure returned, anger began to boil over.

‘Why do these damn variables keep popping up?’

Is this some kind of spin-off story?

How could something like that exist in a sacred zone managed by the temple?

Judging from the cave’s design, it clearly existed even before the zombie outbreak.

What kind of lunatic would do something like this?

Conducting experiments on humans—

There’s a limit to how much life can be treated as disposable.

As my insides churned, I let out an irritated sigh.

There was no need to overthink who the culprit was.

This was a sacred zone.

An area under temple jurisdiction, where no one could trespass.

Strange experiments and facilities existing here could only be explained by the temple.

Even if an organization or individual had carried it out in secret, there was no way they could’ve avoided the temple’s notice—at best, the temple was an accomplice.

I glanced at the Crown Prince, who seemed just as deeply lost in thought.

‘He’s probably convinced it’s the temple too.’

And he likely believes the zombie outbreak was intentionally caused to erase evidence of those suspicious experiments.

‘And I only just realized this because of what happened here…’

I slipped one hand into my pocket and clenched the crumpled note inside.

[ You must go to the Sacred Zone. No matter what. ]

Perhaps the zombie virus mist wasn’t an accident after all.

The temple and Hayton may have collaborated on grotesque experiments, then released the zombie mist to erase the evidence—only for Hayton to take the fall.

Of course, I considered the possibility that Hayton acted alone…

…but as established, the facilities and experiments here could never have escaped the temple’s notice.

This wasn’t the same as sneaking weapons in among the crowd during the chaos of a prayer ceremony—it was on an entirely different scale.

I quietly withdrew my hand from my pocket and glanced at the Crown Prince.